Transient In Custody After Attempting 5 Bank Robberies In Same Day
SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — A transient has been arrested in connection with six bank robberies and attempted robberies – five of them in one day, Santa Ana police said Tuesday.
Joseph Anthony Perez, 27, was captured Monday after police followed the signal of a tracking device to the area where he was found walking.
After a brief foot chase, Perez was taken into custody and booked at Santa Ana Police Department jail where he is being held without bail.
Police say the suspect first struck Saturday morning at a Bank of America, 3730 S. Bristol St., and got away with an unspecified amount of money. The apparently emboldened robber then struck at five other banks between 11:15 a.m. and 3:13 p.m. Monday in Santa Ana and Fountain Valley.
At one bank, detectives say he brandished a weapon, but most of Monday's robbery attempts were unsuccessful.
The tracking device came from Monday's last bank robbery at a Bank of the West, 3931 S. Bristol St., where the robber showed the teller a demand note. The suspect took an unspecified amount of money, which contained a tracker, and was seen driving off in a blue Chevy Suburban, police said.
Officers followed the tracking device to rear of a restaurant, where it was found thrown under the abandoned SUV. But a search of the area located Perez walking on Bristol, police said.